Carol Channing
1921-2019
The first Absent Friend of 2019 is legendary Broadway actress Carol Channing, who died earlier this week at the age of 97.
Channing became a star on Broadway in 1949 when she starred as flapper Lorelei Lee in "Gentleman Prefer Blondes", but she cemented her status as a certified and bona fide Legend when she starred as matchmaker Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly" in 1964. The show won ten Tony Awards, including one for Channing as Best Actress in Musical, and she went on to perform the role on national and international tours, and in three separate Broadway revivals in 1977, 1982, and 1994 when she was well into her seventies. By her own account, she formed the role of Dolly Levi over 5,000 times. Perhaps no performer is associated with one particular role as is Channing with Dolly Levi.
Ironically, Channing's movie career never really took off, and her two most famous roles, Lorelei and Dolly, were performed on screen by other actresses, Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand. Fun Fact: When Channing won that Tony Award for "Hello, Dolly", one of the actresses she beat out was Barbra Streisand from "Funny Girl".
They dimmed the lights on Broadway earlier this week in Channing's honor. It was well deserved.
RIP Carol Channing.
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